DETROIT – If Stephen Weiss would have listened to the hockey player inside him he would have been on the ice Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators.

Luckily there are professionals that will help decide when Weiss can return.

Weiss missed his fifth straight game Tuesday with a groin injury.

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“It’s just a matter of getting a couple more (practices) in to get the conditioning back and hopefully I’ll be ready to go soon,” Weiss said. “I don’t think Thursday, but hopefully sometime this weekend, maybe Saturday or Sunday. I would like to play today, but it’s not my call.”

Weiss went a full practice Monday and took part in the pre-game skate Tuesday.

“Anytime you miss 10 days without skating you need a few practices,” Weiss said. “We knew it was going to be a couple weeks and it hasn’t been that yet so we’re still trying to make sure when I do come back it’s not for the short term.”

Weiss missed most of last season with the Florida Panthers with a wrist injury.

“Sitting is the worst,” Weiss said. “(Groin) injuries are the worst because you start feeling better and you want to push it and you can go back to square one so quickly so you have to be patient and that’s not one of my fortes.”

Weiss missed most of last season with the Florida Panthers with a wrist injury.

“Being hurt is probably the worst thing to go through,” Weiss said. “You want to be out there with the guys and try and contribute. When you’re sitting in the room, watching games, it’s hard to watch. But at the same time it’s part of it. When you play as many games we do these things happen so you have to be patient and realize there’s still a lot of hockey.”

Weiss was the second-line center the Wings coveted in free agency signing him to a five-year deal on the first day of free agency at $4.9 million a season.

He’s struggled in that role, scoring just two goals to go with an assist in 17 games. He’s also a minus-3.

All about the resume

Wings coach Mike Babcock knows whoever makes their respective Olympic teams will largely be based at how they’re playing at the time.

But that’s only part of it.

“(It’s) whoever is playing good, but we know what their resume is,” Babcock said. “Because the resume gives you confidence the guy is going to get it done. The other thing happens to you when you’re trying out for an Olympic team, you don’t score for a week and you start to press. If it goes in off you then you start to press. What I’ve learned over time here is good players, they’re good players and they’re going to come out of whatever they’re in.”

Babcock feels Jimmy Howard is more a resume guy rather than how he’s playing at the time.

“But in the last month you have to decide who starts,” Babcock said. “Then you can get one change and still win a medal. If you have two changes you’re going home.”

Howard is battling for one of three roster spots on the Team USA roster with Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick, Ottawa’s Craig Anderson, New Jersey’s Cory Schneider and Tampa Bay’s Ben Bishop, who has just been added to the mix according to Team USA general manager David Poile.

This and that

The Wings dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen Tuesday. … Daniel Alfredsson (groin) missed his third straight game. … Brendan Smith returned after missing the last six games with a shoulder injury.

Henrik Zetterberg on shootouts: “It’s not much to it, they either go in and you score or you don’t. Maybe we should work on it a little bit more if that’s the case, but I don’t think there’s much to it, either the goalie makes a save or the player scores. But we’ve been on the wrong side of that.”

Prior to Tuesday, Zetterberg has missed is only shootout attempt this season.

“It’s great for the fans, they love it,” Zetterberg. “It’s fun when you win. It’s not so fun when you lose. I don’t mind a different option, (maybe have the) overtime go a little bit longer. That would be exciting too. But overall, I think it’s been working out pretty good. It’s exciting for a player to go in for a penalty shot. You don’t get that often in a regular game, but at the same time you don’t play three-on-three that often either.

“I don’t like the tie,” Zetterberg added. “I want to have a winner or loser.”

When asked who his first three shooters would be in a shootout Zetterberg said, “(Pavel) Datsyuk, Alfredsson, (Todd) Bertuzzi.”

Send comments to chuck.pleiness@macombdaily.com and visit his blog at redwingsfront.wordpress.com